Treasured Gifts of Many

Chapter 7
Chapter Six

Treasured Gifts of May:

Chapter Six Besty nervously paced in front of her two-story house, glancing at the street. She looked out at the street, and her worry grew when she didn’t see anyone coming. She looked down at her phone, frowning at the message from Jane Bridges, saying that May was on her way. “...25 minutes,” Besty muttered, barely keeping her panic under control. Besty knew from experience that walking from her house to May’s home took 15 minutes. Even if May was a 14-year-old teenager, she shouldn’t be this late. Besty wanted nothing more than to send a message or call her best friend. The only thing stopping her was the message from Jane, which said that May still wasn’t in a good state of mind. Due to what she was going to major in at college, Besty had a slight understanding of how one’s mind works. May was in a very delicate state, and even the slightest misstep could cause her to retreat into her head again. Besty, despite knowing this, was finding it harder and harder to fight the urge to jump into her car and race down the street looking for her best friend. Suddenly, a girl came frantically running up to Besty’s house, falling to the ground once she reached it. “May?” Besty exclaimed, hurrying over to the teenager. Besty knelt in front of the fourteen-year-old, looking under the girl’s ball cap. She gasped as she immediately recognized her best friend. Even though she was told about May's unusual condition, seeing it in person was startling. A part of her didn’t want to believe that this petite teenager was the girl she basically grew up with.

Still, her shock was quickly overridden when she noticed how rattled her best friend looked. “Oh…May,” Best moaned lightly, wrapping her friend in a tight hug. “I’m here. You’re not alone.” Besty heard May let out a shuddering gasp and felt May wrap her shaky arms around her waist. Besty softly ran a hand over her best friend’s back in soothing circles. The gesture worked remarkably well; Besty could feel May starting to relax in her arms, and her breathing started to even out. The blonde-haired girl kept this up for another two minutes until her best friend’s breathing had completely steadied. Besty slowly pulled away from May, keeping her hands on the redhead’s shoulders. “You good, May?” Besty asked softly, with a matching smile. May shook her head, with a weak, shaky smile. “No,” she said weakly, “But I’m better now…Thanks, Besty.” Besty’s smile filled with relief, and she helped May to her feet. She wrapped her left arm around May’s shoulder, looking at May with her eyes. She found it weird that her best friend was shorter than her now; just two months ago, she needed to tilt her head up slightly to look May in the eyes. Besty tried to shrug off this feeling as she took May inside and up to the second floor. Unfortunately, to reach her room, Besty had to pass her parents’ office, where she could see her mother busy at work. Karen Winters was hunched over at her desk, two high-end laptops in front of her and a high-performance tablet in her right hand. Karen’s eyes were a blur of motion as she navigated her three devices, scanning, analyzing, updating every single data cluster she received. Besty gained a lot from her mother; they had the same eyes and hair. About the only thing she didn’t inherit from her mother was her figure; Karen was well over six feet, and with a slender body, she could easily have been a model. “Mother,” Besty called formally as she passed. “May’s here. We will be in my room if you need anything.” Karen didn’t even acknowledge her daughter with a dismissive wave of her hand; she was too engrossed in her work to bother with her only child. Besty felt a pang of bitter sadness go through her from her mother’s neglect, but she quickly pushed it into the back of her head. Right now, her only concern was helping May. Besty led her friend into her room, and May immediately whimpered at the sight. Once, Besty’s room was filled with everything a teenager could wish for: the best plush bed and a vanity stand made from the finest oak wood money could buy. Posters of Besty's favorite movies and actors had once lined the walls, and there was once a bookshelf in the corner filled with books of all sorts. Except most of those items were gone, put into boxes for transport when Besty left for college in a few weeks. The only things left in the room were the bed, vanity, and an empty bookshelf. May looked at the boxes, her whimpering growing, almost turning into a full cry. Besty saw her friend’s state and gently guided May to her bed. She gingerly took May's backpack and set it to the side before she gently eased the fourteen-year-old redhead down on her bed. The blonde took a seat next to her best friend and wrapped her arm around May’s shoulder, gently turning her so the shrinking girl didn’t see the boxes. “Hey, hey,” Besty said softly. “Don’t look at that junk; just focus on me.” May didn’t instantly look at her best friend, afraid that Besty would just see her as some kid, a burden like Mary Mouse did just a short while ago. She clutched the rim of her shorts, tensing her body to try and stop it from shaking. Besty frowned in concern, believing she knew what was going through May’s head. She was quick to adopt a gentle smile as she gingerly grabbed May’s hat. She lifted it off her friend’s head, then softly grabbed May’s chin. Besty stopped short of lifting May’s head so they were looking eye to eye. Instead, she changed tactics, wrapping her arms around May in a comforting hug. “May,” Best pleaded softly. “Please, look at me. You have known me since we were seven. You know I would never hurt you. So please look at me, talk to me.” Coaxed by her friend’s gentle voice, May slowly looked into Besty’s eyes. She couldn’t see any doubt or resentment or judgement in Besty’s glance. All there was was soft understanding and tender kindness. May, seeing those eyes and knowing she was safe in her best friend’s embrace, finally broke. “IT'S NOT FAIR!!” May screamed, throwing herself into Besty’s arms, crying. “IT’S JUST SO TOTALLY UNFAIR!!” Besty didn’t hesitate; she began running a soothing circle on May’s back. The gesture did little to calm May this time as the shrinking redhead continued to cry her heart out. “Everyone is leaving me!” May continued. “I ran into Mary Mouse on my way over here. And you know what happened?” May's head snapped up, her face red from all her crying and the memory of her encounter. “She saw right through ME!” May screamed. “We have fought at every turn, and SHE DIDN’T EVEN RECOGNIZE ME!!” There was a sudden knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice. “Bethany!” Karen’s stern voice shouted. “If your friend can’t keep her voice down, she has to leave! I have an important call in the next twenty-four minutes, and I need complete silence.” “Sorry, Mother,” Besty replied automatically, looking at her door. “We will be quiet.” Besty stared at her door for a moment, listening as her mother walked away. Once she was sure her mother wasn’t going to interrupt them, she turned her attention back to May. “Hey,” Besty said softly, wrapping her arms tightly around May. “Who cares about Mouse? Remember, she’s going to a local state college while you got a full scholarship!” “It’s just not that!” May snapped angrily, though she kept her voice low. “It’s everything!” She angrily waved her hand around Besty's room, even pointing at some boxes where her best friend’s clothes were. “Everyone is leaving me behind!” May whined desperately. “People I have known for years are either leaving for college or getting jobs. Even you’re leaving! And Me?” May’s voice broke as she thrust her hand against her chest, grabbing her yellow “Triple Boyz” shirt and pulling it away from her chest. “I’m stuck here! Shrinking into some kind of bady FREAK!” May nearly screamed, looking Besty in the eyes with a heated glare. “You’ll probably forget me the second you’re out of this town!” Besty’s heart broke at her friend’s ranting. May really thought Besty would forget her the second she was out of Amber Ridges. Besty didn’t hesitate; she pulled May close, hugging her in a tight, protective hug. “No, no!” the blonde said firmly. “After everything your family, especially you, has done for me since we met, I would never leave you!” She gently pulled her friend away so they were making eye contact. “I don’t care if I’m half a world away or if you turned into a three-year-old,” the blonde teenager said with conviction. “If you need me, I would drop everything and come to my best-” Besty shook her head slightly, then looked at May with a smile that was warm and sisterly. “I will always come to sister’s side, hands down.” May let out a soft gasp, looking in Besty’s eyes. All she could see was nothing but love, conviction, and total acceptance. Both friends/sisters failed to see the snow-white sparkles dancing in their eyes as they continued to stare at each other. May came to a startling, profound realization in this moment. The current fourteen-year-old didn’t see her best friend as an equal anymore, but as a true big sister, one she knew she could count on even in the craziest of times. Even more profound was the relief this brought May. It was such a weird but comforting feeling to know that she had someone outside of her family that she could count on during this crazy scenario she found herself in. This feeling made May feel lighter than she had since this mess started. It also made the girl feel like crying. May quickly composed herself, but a slight sniff did escape her. She reached down and picked up her bag. She opened it and took out the box. “I'm sorry I missed your nineteenth birthday,” May said bashfully, offering her new sister the box. “But this is for you…sis.” Besty, in awe, took the box gingerly. With soft hands, she undid the ribbon and opened the box. She gasped at the item inside. It was a bracelet meticulously made with red, blue, and green fabrics. In the center of the woven fabrics was a peridot, Besty's birthstone. “May…” Besty said in awe, looking at her newly minted sister with wide eyes. “It’s beautiful!” May turned more bashful at her friend’s words and ducked her head slightly to hide the dusting of pink highlighting her cheek. “You said that you always wanted something with your birthstone in it,” the shrinking girl said shyly. “I work my butt really, really hard to get it.” Both were so caught up in their conversation that neither realized how childish May sounded just now. Besty stared at her late birthday gift, admitting it and the fact that her newly minted sister gave it to her. Besty was getting an idea to give to May on her birthday in October. (SC) Nearly two weeks later, Besty was officially off to college. Before starting the long drive, she made a slight detour to see her favorite sister. “I’m going to call you every single night,” Besty said affectionately, hugging May. “And you know I’m coming back for long weekends and holidays.” May pulled away from the older teenager, eyes sparkling with hope. “You promise?” the girl asked, sounding like the near-13-year-old she appears to be. Besty smiled and leaned down to plant a sisterly kiss on May’s forehead. “Of course, little sis,” Besty replied with genuine love. “I’m driving out to college, not out of your life.” With a slight blush on her face, May leaned in and hugged Besty again. The college-bound woman returned the hug tenfold and gave her honorary little sister another kiss on the forehead. Besty then hopped into her car and drove out of the neighborhood, with May waving her off.